One of the 2 hutias on WAnimals
Mammals · Rodentia · Capromyidae
Cuvier's Hutia
Plagiodontia aedium
Endangered
At very high risk of extinction in the wild in the near future.
Cuvier's hutia is one of only two native land mammals surviving on the island, along with the solenodon. It is an arboreal caviomorph rodent with a greyish-brown coat and a non-prehensile tail, which spends the day in tree hollows and caves and comes out at night to eat leaves, bark and fruit. Hutias were once a diverse group in the Caribbean, with dozens of species, almost all of them extinct after the arrival of people and the animals they brought with them.
Weight
1 kg – 1.3 kg
Size
30 cm – 40 cm
Life expectancy
10 years
